What type of rock is this?

[StevenT]

Found it t the NC knappin. Wondering what type rock it is.

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[Lobo69ss]

  I`m not too sure about what it might be called to the south (from me
at least), but it looks like quartzite type of stuff that litters the cornfields
around here, I can find lots of that, just can`t flake it.

[bryan irwin]

yep it looks like quartz to me i have found a lot of points made from it i tried it but its to much for me.

[ricktrojanowski]

Looks like quartz to me.  That is the only knappable rock local to where I live.  I managed to get one point from it so far.  It is really hard to work.  You will want a really THICK leg pad.  I used a dogwood billet to do much of the percussion.  The "real" points that I have seen are pretty crude and thick, but they must have worked.  

[StevenT]

Thanks all. I only picked up this one piece and it looks pretty rough. As you can see, lots of cracks and sort of a mess. I did take one corner off as you can see. The stuff underneath has a nice look. I'll whack at it a bit and see what happens.

[Hillbilly]

It's vein quartz. It makes good, sharp points if you can find a solid piece. That waxy looking quartz knaps much better than quartzite, but it's usually full of cracks and fractures. A good grade of it will break as sharp as obsidian.

[Blacktail]

i would call it sugar quarts...

[StevenT]

Thanks Steve. I picked this piece up in the trees behind the firewood. There seemed to be a lot of it back there and I wish I had picked some more up. Maybe next knappin.

[arappaho]

Yep, vein quartz. The most interesting thing to me about that piece is the way it is
trying to crystallize on the right side. Tells me there could be quartz crystals in that area.

Ya know quartz has always gotten a bad rap. The archs around here used to say that it was only
used when they couldn't get their hands on anything better. I wonder about that? Seems
to me it was used alot more than that. I have been collecting quartz from different sites
where it was obviously used/quarried by the abos. I would love to bring a few hundred pounds
to the next NC Knap-in and let you all have at it. We could call it "research".

Here's a lousy pic of some quartz points I've found,



Joe

[Hillbilly]

Joe, bring it on! Man, that's a sweet Hardaway in the middle of your pic. I haven't had a chance to whack any of your rhyolite yet, but I haven't forgotten about it.

[StevenT]

I am at work so had to take this pic with my phone so it is not as clear as with my camera. What I have found is that this stuff may be knapped, but it is difficult. The rock breaks apart at every one of the yellow veins. The hard part is going to be finding a good piece without any veins or cracks in it that is large enough to shape into a point. The stuff is hard as hell, but it does flake when whacked with a copper bopper and I can get a bit of a flake with the pressure flaker. The flake is not really conical like in glass or flint.... more like a flat flake. However, the edges are sharp. I'll keep at it and see if I can end up with anything from this piece besides a pile of white gravel.

Arappaho, if you have a bunch, it would be interesting to see what the guys can do with it at the classic.

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[StevenT]

I can put this one to rest. Ended up with a pile of white gravel. It had veins and cracks through the whole rock.

[gutpile]

that is the only way I can work quartz is to bust it up in smaller flakes and work those thin flakes to a point...I can not make a big point with quarts as it is to unpredictable because of the internal fractures it is laced with..it can be done as proof of the Indians around here but they never cease to amaze me with their work on this stuff....tuff stuff for sure...gut

[arappaho]

Oh yeah, I agree, the stuff is about impossible to work. I think you got to be about
as delicate as you are with obsidian, and that's if you can get a good piece to start with.
Which, it seems, are 1 in a 100. And then there are so many different grades and types
of quartz.
Usually, if I can get a good biface going, the slightest little tap, at the wrong time I guess,
will snap it in two.
Never been to the Classic, Steve, and if my rock goes I want to go too!
But I have collected a couple hundred pounds from sites that were quarried anciently and I
gotta tell you, I just don't see it breaking in any decent way at all. That's why I am curious
if ANYONE can get anything out of it.
That "vein" quartz you have, Steve, 'could' possibly be workable if you get a large enough piece
from a good size vein, but alot of the veins around here have been fractured in the ground
allready due to earthquakes or whatever was going on a few tens of millions of years ago.
Alot of those "red lines" are from iron collecting and staining those fractures.
I've got nice pieces from veins and outcroppings an acre or bigger. But the only stuff that I've
found that really works is the stuff the abos used and discarded.

Lots of times I guess the abos were doing the best they could with what they had to work with.
If quartz was all they could find, then dinner was just going to be a little later than usual.

BUT, I have to add this WARNING............
For those of you that may be wanting to get out and check out some of your local quartz.........
Quartz does not break like a lot of other knapping materials. It will Break Crazy and Uncontrolled.
Many times the flakes will come flying right straight back at you. Do Not let your guard down when
busting into this stuff, it will cut you or put an eye out if you aren't careful. Specially if you are in
the field beating on a big piece with a steel head sledge or hammer.

Joe